First ever PV Plants Map South Africa unveiled today

Published byCSP Today

Wednesday 21 March 2012

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DNI and GHI data, plus the size and location of 18 PV projects detailed in the PV Plants Map South Africa 2012

Researchers at PV Insider have completed work on the PV Plants Map South Africa 2012, which details the size and location of 18 PV projects that successfully won bids in the first round of the South African renewable energy program. This includes large-scale projects like the 75MW Kathu Solar Energy Facility and the 36MW Touwsriver project that are currently under development in the region.

Additionally, the map provides detailed global horizontal irradiance (GHI) and direct normal irradiance (DNI) data for South Africa, showing the location of each project on both these maps.

Direct normal irradiation in South Africa varies between 1400 to 2900 kWh/ m2, with global horizontal irradiation ranging from 1600 to 2300 kWh/m2. The PV Plants Map South Africa includes DNI and GHI data collected from 1994-2011, and has been made available to the industry to enable a better understanding of South Africa’s highly esteemed solar resources.

To date it has been difficult to find the location of PV projects that won bids in the first round of the renewable energy program. “It goes without saying that this map will prove to be a vital tool for choosing the location to develop PV plants in South Africa for years to come” explained Jack Ahearne at PV-Insider.